Tank has been cycled for a week maybe so this weekend I bought some chromis Bc I like that they school. Theyre doing just fine and I added some gsp and some unknown palys in there as well. I want to start adding my coral from my Biocube but want to know when It would be okay. The tank is a 125g w 40g sump
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How soon to add coral after tank cycled
- Thread starter mbachota
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Prob would wait at least a month for myself.
What corals are you wanting to move over? SPS will be the pickiest IMO.
I've read not to try SPS on a tank under 6 months old. I did at about 3 months, and nothing died, but it was several more months before I started to get growth and other signs of thriving.
I've read not to try SPS on a tank under 6 months old. I did at about 3 months, and nothing died, but it was several more months before I started to get growth and other signs of thriving.
I kinda had toAmici;658159 wrote: I don't know if I agree. There is a certain level of biological filtration that builds up and adding corals and fish to quickly can cause another cycle.
I'm sure everyone knows this but just as a reminder what we talk about as a cycle is the process of:
Anything dieing, anything pooping or otherwise creating waste which as it decays turns into ammonia. There is bacteria that will immediately start growing and colonizing the live rock that will convert the ammonia into nitrite. This bacteria will continue to grow to a level where it can consume all the available ammonia.
There are other bacteria that will also grow and colonize the live rock that will convert the nitrite into nitrate. It will also grow to a level where it can consume/convert all available nitrite. The nitrate needs to be removed through mechanical means, such as water changes and cultivation and removal of macro algaes.
Ammonia, Nirite and Nitrate can all be harmful to our fish and corals at varying levels so our goal is always to keep all three at zero if possible.
So a new set up may or may not even go through an initial cycle depending on what it was initially set up with. If rock with dead things on it that haven't yet decayed are used then it will cycle as the decay happens. In any case once an initial cycle has occured and a tank is at equilibrium anything that gets added that can decay or emit waste of any kind will now have added a new level of ammonia. In small amounts the bacteria will most likely immediatly grow to a higher level to accomodate the new load and no measurable amounts of ammonia, nitrite, and/or nitrate will be seen. However if a large load is added it could take a while for the bacteria to grow and levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate may be seen in measurable ammounts and in worst cases it may be harmful to our fish, inverts and corals. Unfortunately, the harm may not always be visible but may have a long term effect that we don't equate to a past increase in these levels. The amount of live rock, how long it has been colonized with bacteria, and water volume you have are significant factors in how much can be added safely so there is no one answer that fits every situation.
So this is why most everyone here says take your time if time is available. Sometimes you have to play the hand you're dealt and rush things and sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't. The bottom line for me is if you have the time to go slow, then do it.
Sorry for the longish post!
Anything dieing, anything pooping or otherwise creating waste which as it decays turns into ammonia. There is bacteria that will immediately start growing and colonizing the live rock that will convert the ammonia into nitrite. This bacteria will continue to grow to a level where it can consume all the available ammonia.
There are other bacteria that will also grow and colonize the live rock that will convert the nitrite into nitrate. It will also grow to a level where it can consume/convert all available nitrite. The nitrate needs to be removed through mechanical means, such as water changes and cultivation and removal of macro algaes.
Ammonia, Nirite and Nitrate can all be harmful to our fish and corals at varying levels so our goal is always to keep all three at zero if possible.
So a new set up may or may not even go through an initial cycle depending on what it was initially set up with. If rock with dead things on it that haven't yet decayed are used then it will cycle as the decay happens. In any case once an initial cycle has occured and a tank is at equilibrium anything that gets added that can decay or emit waste of any kind will now have added a new level of ammonia. In small amounts the bacteria will most likely immediatly grow to a higher level to accomodate the new load and no measurable amounts of ammonia, nitrite, and/or nitrate will be seen. However if a large load is added it could take a while for the bacteria to grow and levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate may be seen in measurable ammounts and in worst cases it may be harmful to our fish, inverts and corals. Unfortunately, the harm may not always be visible but may have a long term effect that we don't equate to a past increase in these levels. The amount of live rock, how long it has been colonized with bacteria, and water volume you have are significant factors in how much can be added safely so there is no one answer that fits every situation.
So this is why most everyone here says take your time if time is available. Sometimes you have to play the hand you're dealt and rush things and sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't. The bottom line for me is if you have the time to go slow, then do it.
Sorry for the longish post!
Thanks bud. Never had somebody explain it so well to me. I'm in no rush at all just wanted to get a feel from everybody on how long they waited before they added anything. I'll just keep to adding a few corals a week then and one fish a week and I think everything will be fine.
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